(092112)

Time
Line - Signs of the Times - Storm Warning

Lessons
Learned?
Gas Chambers to Nuclear Explosions
The Psychology of the Times

I sometimes wonder if the ovens
of Auschwitz and the cloud over Nagasaki didn't give us a somber
warning
about the dangers of human potential. No doubt the immense power
of modern weapons and the capacity of a civilized nation to condone
hideous
atrocities, like those at Auschwitz, caused us to view the awesome
complexity of human nature with caution. We learned something
about
our capacity for inhumanity and ruthlessness. What the Western world
learned on the battlefields of two world wars helped teach us
compassion,
and it gave us a remarkable depth of character. For a moment at least,
the world seemed deeply grateful to God for a return to peace
on earth,
and all over this land there was a sense of genuine humility—but
it was short-lived. Graham, Storm Warning, page 164

Photo
of storm by Mike Hollingshead, copyrighted image used here
with permission granted by Mr. Hollingshead and by www.extremeinstability.com.

- What do humans learn
from each generation's experience?
- What direction does our thinking take us?
- If life's origins are more than by chance processes, then is it not logical to look into life's
purpose as a matter of practicality?
- What purpose is there to this earth-bound life?

You would think the
most horrendous events in human history—for example, the mass killings
during World War II—would leave an indelible mark on humanity's conscience.
Certainly, in the time frame of a post-war era, there is reflection and relaxation.
The struggle is over. The world can be a better place. Time to focus on
life's purpose and to get it right! Yes?

Drifting
From Lessons Learned

After World War II's
global conflict, humans celebrated life by engaging in material pleasures.
But why did we drift from life-centered lessons stemming from global conflict
to this material-centric experience? Think of it ... the quality of the social,
vibrant living, human experience is not based merely on things, but on qualities
of health in both the physical and spiritual realms. And to be good stewards
for our planet and its inhabitants is also attending to this overall focus
on the physical and spiritual. But then ... what have we made our focus?

By the mid-1950s, America was
absorbed with "modernism." From the fins of our automobiles to the
shrinking swimsuits of Hollywood models, it was apparent that America
was making a deliberate turn toward the new, the modern, the materialistic,
and the shocking. The music, the movies, and the media of the day
reveal the degree to which this change was taking place in the popular
imagination. Graham, Storm Warning, page 164

MOVING
ON: MATERIALISM TO PSYCHOLOGY

The post-war era seems
a migration—from decade to decade—with distinct themes following
in turn. Once comforted in the material sense, the move was to exploring freedom
of the mind:

... By the mid-1960s,
psychology was the hottest major in American universities. Many of psychology’s
insights into the reasons behind human behavior are of value, and some
of them confirm what the Bible had said long ago. However, today we
can see that some of the founders of that science—likely early
astronauts of the mind—were among the leading contributors to
the shift in values taking place in American attitudes. Unfortunately,
that was not all good news. Graham, Storm Warning, page 165

While popular and widely
accepted, this shift is a subtle global change and another significant
sign for changes leading to the present global dilemma.

The principle which made secular
psychology so radical was that it introduced a break with much that
had gone before. Just as the theories of Charles Darwin had undermined
belief in God as the Creator, modern psychology also tended to turn
people against belief in God. It taught that there was hidden depth
and substance within each individual. The outer person was a compromise;
the inner person was profound and important. Psychology thus concluded
that the true self, buried under a false covering of social conditioning
and religious prejudice, was struggling to be set free. For some psychologists,
therefore, religion was seen as a hindrance rather than a help to
human personality. Graham, Storm Warning, page 165

Dr. Graham notes that in recent times
new forms of Bible-based psychology have been developed to deal with emotional
issues in the context of faith and belief. However, aside from faith-based
counseling, even with psychological principles being applied, the more common
secular counseling defines a different picture.

Culture of Self

Much modern secular psychology,
on the other hand, preaches individual self-interest as the ultimate
reality at the expense of compassion, concern for others, and devotion
to a higher purpose in life—as in our relation to God and our
fellow man. "Pop psychology" has contributed in no small way to the
chaos of hedonism, secularism, and nihilism in the modern culture. Graham, Storm
Warning, page 165

The move to psychology
taught us that answers are merely found in the self:

From high school on, young people
are indoctrinated with the secular definitions of self-esteem, self-image,
self-realization, and self-actualization propagated by the prophets
of selfism. Today the ideas and principles of Carl Jung, Alfred Adler,
Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport, Erich Fromm, and not
least, Sigmund Freud, are better known on college and university campuses
than those of Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jesus, or Paul.

The focus on self, auto-centrism,
and it behaviorism has led our society into a fascination with pleasure,
emotional and sexual stimulation, and "personal fulfillment." What
Freud described as the liberation of the id was the first step toward
the cult of the self. Graham, Storm Warning, page 166

But
lets pit self-reliance and self-interest against the very real need to counter
negative global changes and a very complex picture surfaces. For the moment,
we are not thinking of climate change, extinction, consumerism, or even booming
population, but now to changes extending into the psychological fabric of
family and community.

... Today we
are experiencing an epidemic of parental neglect, mothers and fathers
absent from home, children exploited by advertising and mass media,
immature sensibilities bombarded by erotic and vulgar programming specifically
aimed at vulnerable young minds, and the encouraging of excessive, even
pathological, self-interest and self-absorption. Where are these stories
in the secular media? Graham, Storm Warning, page 168

From the gloom of a
world war—exhibiting the most inhuman madness and demonic behaviors
of the Nazi war machine and the potential for global nuclear annihilation—we
come to another pit of human existence. Here is the root of thought and
behavior which at first seems to have little to do with war, global tensions,
or the obvious evidence of global crisis. Yet from another vantage point,
one sees we've come to accept living in a pit of psychological crisis as normalcy:

… No wonder the world is in crisis.
No wonder teenagers are confused. No wonder there is danger in the
streets. No wonder gang violence is at an all-time high. No wonder
teen suicide has reached epidemic proportions. No wonder the dropout
rate in high schools all over America is astronomical. No wonder young
adults fail in life and come home to live with mom and dad. No wonder
there is nothing for young people to believe in. No wonder the soul
of America is in peril. No wonder we fear for tomorrow. Satan, the
deceiver and corrupter, is riding roughshod throughout the land.

Who stands
for truth? Does anybody care anymore? At the bitter end of an era
of liberation—women's lib, kids' lib, animal lib, and everything-but-ethics
lib—America has apparently been liberated from its moral foundations.
But for too many, the good life has become a living hell. Graham, Storm Warning, page 170

And in that hellish
state some get a glimpse of truth.

CYCLES
IN TIME: Lessons Relearned

Long ago reflections
from the book of Ecclesiastes tell us cycles are an inherent part of living,
in nature and generation to generation, and nothing is new under the sun.

4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth
abides forever. 5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes
down, And hastens to the place where it arose. 6 The
wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind
whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. 7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place
from which the rivers come, There they return again. 8 All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not
satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will
be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes
1: 4-9; NKJV)

To unlearn war would
be new! Yet, no where on the time line do we see a pivotal point where humanity
learns to never have another war. Such a change only comes as a future oriented
biblical promise:

He
shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall
beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn
war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4; NKJV)

For now, conflicts
populate history at every twist and turn. For now, what is learned is how
to employ greater killing power and more effective tools of destruction. This
is nothing new under the sun. So what is the lesson learned?

LEARN
THIS: Life Offers Choice

What might we think
individually, apart from the repetitions brought by human behavior throughout
history? Dr. Graham would offer you another mind, other avenues of hope, and
answers that step into the eternal realm. Consider that life's purpose is
thus a choice. If you've explored the WindowView, you may see something incredibly
rational and sane behind his perspective and view on the world, from the post
World War II era to the present day.

Dr. Graham's crusades
move into communities to ask people to come out, to hear, to consider the
eternal promises made long ago, recorded in Scripture and brought to life
with a familiar face and soft spoken voice. And what Dr. Graham does is pray
for those who stand there, for standing there is what makes the difference,
the prayer simply acknowledges the act of making a commitment. Again, its
a decision made by those who come forth, the Reverend has only helped make
the opportunity. Stepping forward is a step into the eternal that extends
well beyond the end of the WindowView timeline.

The importance to global change is in looking at how social, biological, and physical sciences all reveal data and signs for more ominous changes in the near future. This is change in every aspect of human and earthly affairs ... globally. The Window looks further to see change as a backdrop to a biblical timeline. Driving forces for change force us to ask the most important questions about our true origin, who we are, why we are here, and what the Scriptures tell us about the future. Change forces us to look deeper to face choice or crisis. Life is an opportunity to look for the answers.

Billy
Graham is well known the world over for his work in spreading the
biblical message of salvation.(www.billygraham.org)

Please
Note! We are presenting a number of quotations in the "Signs of the
Times" series that are taken from their original context. So
Be Aware ... the impact of these statements is only heightened and intensified
by a reading of the original text cited below. WindowView serves to reflect
many original sources and in this case we highly recommend a reading of
the entire book used as a source here! The 'Signs' are woefully important
to revealing humanity's future, reading these quotations in their original
context makes this point all the more clear!

For a general listing of books, visit the WindowView Book Page for: Science and Scripture .

Step Up To Life

Time spent looking ... through a window on life and choice ... brings the opportunity to see in a new light. The offer for you to Step Up To Life is presented on many of the web pages at WindowView. Without further explanation we offer you the steps here ... knowing that depending on what you have seen or may yet explore in the window ... these steps will be the most important of your life ...